House of Representatives

Chapter 10

Section 2

Key Terms

Apportion Reapportion Off-Year Election Single-Member District At-large Gerrymander Incumbent

Size and Terms435 members in the HouseSet by Congress, not fixed by ConstitutionEach State is guaranteed at least one

memberSeven States have just oneApportioned-distributed amongst the

states based on population

Voters in D.C., Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa each elect a delegate, not full fledged

Article 1, Section 2, Clause 1 “Provides that “Representatives shall be…chosen every second Year”

The fact they are always running makes them pay more attention to home

No term limits 1990 Tried to get an amendment to limit

terms (three or four terms)

Reapportion-every ten years after the census the seats will be redistributed

As the nation grew so did Congress1800 142 seats1910 182 seatsNo reapportionment after 1920 census

Reapportionment Act of 1929Set up permanent size at 435Each house member represents 700,000 peopleAfter each census the Census Bureau figures

out how many seats each state should havePresident sends it to CongressAfter 60 days if neither house rejects it it

becomes effective

Congressional ElectionsHeld on the same day in every stateHeld the first Tuesday after the first Monday in

NovemberCongress holds election in October

1872 turned to written or printed ballots Voting machines since 1899

Off-Year Elections- Congressional elections held in non-presidential years

Party that holds the Presidency usually loses seats

Except for 2002 ( because of 9/11) 2006 suffered major losses Democrats won because of dissatisfaction with

George Bush and war in Iraq.

Districts Chosen by 435 separate congressional districts 428 congressional districts for 43 states

Can elect by general ticket system or a single member basis.

Single member district-voters in each district elect one of the states representatives among a field of candidates running for the seat.

At-Large- elected from the state as a whole rather than a particular district

Each voter could vote for each one of the state’s seats in the house

At large elections proved grossly unfair Congress did away with the at large

system 1842

1842 each state legislature responsible for drawing their congressional districtsMust be made up of contiguous territoryEach district have the same number of

inhabitants1901 be of compact territoryGerrymandering- odd shapes drawn to a

political advantage

Most gerrymandering takes two formsTo concentrate the oppositions voters in a few

districtsTo spread the opposition so thinly among several

districts limiting opposition’s chances Goal is to create safe districts Technology makes it easier then ever Gerrymandering is why only a few seats in the

House are actually at risk

No more than 40 members represent districts that can not be qualified safe

Most states carved up as rural vs. urban Wesberry v Sanders ruled that states must

draw congressional districts of substantially equal populations

The courts “one person, one vote” decision had an immediate impact

Gerrymandering solely on race violates the 15th Amendment

Gamillion v. Lightfoot 1960- So called majority-minority district following the 1990 and again in 2000

Struck down race based districts in several cases

Davis v Bandemer 1986Texas became the first state to redistrict

between censuses Purpose was to increase the Republican

seats in U.S. House 2006 Supreme Court held that neither the

constitution nor any act of Congress prevents redrawing lines

Qualifications for officeBe 25 years of ageHave been a citizen of the Unites States for 7 yearsBe an inhabitant of the state from which he or she

is electedCustom not Constitution requires that

representative lives in their districtCustom believes more familiar with problems

Constitution makes the House “the judge of Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own members”

House may refuse a member a seat by majority vote.

Punish members for disorderly behavior by majority vote

With concurrence from 2/3’s to expel

In 1900 House refused to seat Brigham H. Roberts of Utah (polygamist)

1919 and 1920 House excluded Victor Berger Wisconsin (socialist party)Berger wrote several article during WW1

denouncing American participation1919 charged with seditionSupreme Court reversed decision Reelected three more times and seated

Powell v McCormack, 1969Supreme court held that could not exclude if

candidate met constitutional standards In 200 years only three members have

been expelled

Informal QualificationsVaries from state to stateEven district to district

Ability to get out the voteParty identificationName familiarityGenderEthnicity

Incumbent- the person who currently holds the office

90% of those win House reelection Fundraising abilities Each House seat in 2008 topped one million

dollars Right combination spells nomination Wrong spells defeat